Sleep The Elusive Friend.

Sleep is overrated so a heart surgeon told me.

But rest is what your body needs.

Silence and quiet. No playing with your phone.

Organise your sleeping quarters

So that your body can go in rest mode.

Away from main roads if possible.

Silence and peace to wind down.

Make it nice and welcoming.

A place you long for through the daylight labours.

The daily grind and stress need a safe place to wander to,

In thoughts and later a place to lay down.

Work through your day, your life,

Sort your worries and slowly move to the thought of letting go.

Leave behind the life, outside the safe walls of sleep and rest.

Quiet colours in the sleep space. Go easy on the décor.

Even in a small studio, there are ways to organise such a space.

Buy the most expensive mattress you can afford.

Side table or not, bed frame maybe next month.

Sleep on the floor if you must but on a good mattress,

And away from direct light and noise.

Like a lover will hold you in his embrace

So, a good mattress makes your comfort a priority.

He cherishes your body so that your mind finds a quiet place.

Lay down and close your eyes.

Find the right angle. Feel for the cocoon,

Your body has built and will build over time.

Smile and breathe you have made it through your day.

Avoid thinking about bad mattresses that have hurt

And damaged the next day’s enthusiasm for life.

Crippled you with pain. Taking from you a day of endeavour.

When deciding on a new abode. Do not concentrate on the kitchen,

The living room or the three pieces in the bathroom.

The priority should be your sleep and the space for your bed.

The place of rest that will make you whole for another day.

Thinking of the peace needed for your brain.

The comfort for your body to walk into tomorrow refreshed and new.

Remember what matters. Remember your body.

Create a haven for the body to rest and mend for the morning.

Exhausting yourself trying to go back to sleep, tires you out.

Experience the sight of a body at peace.

Proceed with a mind in slower motion.

Icy wind is howling outside my window,

Singing for me a sweet lullaby.

But I have found a place to lay down and rest.

With open eyes, I have always been a bad sleeper.

Worries about another sleepless night

Should not come in the way of the rest you need.

View and light matter but only a rested body will be able to enjoy them.

Lay down. What you wear or not, does not come into it.

Open the mind to the endless prairie of colours and words.

View your bed as the sofa of delights and sleep with open eyes.

Endless thoughts will pass you, in a dream-like state.

Reality is not of this dimension.

Restoring the physical matter to confront the next day.

Accept the fact that all the world is asleep.

Awake when all is resting. Awake but not there.

Awake but relaxed and relaxing.

The body letting go and the mind away from you.

You know you do not sleep but your body rests.

Your mind is massaged by thoughts, not from the day-to-day.

On waking in the morning, you will convince yourself that again you have not slept.

But you are rested and free and ready for the new day.

Feel your body floating safely on the mattress.

Listen to the silent snoring of the world beyond the walls.

Hear but the peace that has entered your body.

Dream of days and places not lived in.

Tell yourself, to quieten your thoughts.

Enjoy the moment, let it pass over you.

Decide tonight what tomorrow doesn't need.